XTC – Well I Never (Part 2)

Go 2 – 1978

The second album release of 1978 was ‘Go 2’ in October with a Hipgnosis designed cover which deliberately rather underplays everything. Sound wise the tracks are coming from the same place as ‘White Music’, but the songs, while still full of energy, don’t quite match up to the debut and it was possibly rushed, being released only 10 months later having been recorded at Abbey Road Studios between August and September and released in October.

Stand out tracks for me are the single, ‘Are you receiving me?’ and probably ‘Red’. I think it is fair to say that this is an album that is part of the journey to what comes next but is not really their best work. I do like the lyrics to ‘Are you receiving me?’ though, of which there aren’t actually very many but in the 3 minute context of the song it doesn’t seem that way at all.

Are you receiving me?You are deceiving me I know, see, I knowWhen we’re out walkingYour mouth ain’t where it’s supposed to do the talkingWhen we’re in kissingYour lips are missing, are they out on loan to someone else?Are you listening?I put it in a letter, what could be better?I put it in a note, one night, I wroteI put it in a telegram, just like the son of SamBabe, there’s something missingYour TV’s just hissing